Bears Repeating...

I heard a DJ this morning use the term "Keep the driver in the bag..." with regard to John McCain's campaign. I thought it was a perfect analogy and very sage advice for the GOP front runner. “Keep the driver in the bag” is golfer strategy for when one is playing a great round, or if competing in a tournament, on top of the leader board. It's employed when a player has a large enough stroke lead which assures a win assuming he plays par golf through the remaining holes. There is no need to hit the green on remaining par 5 holes in two shots. For remaining par 4 holes, it dictates you use a three wood or an iron to keep the ball safely in the fairway even if it costs you a little distance. No need to do anything stupid or showy trying to break the course record, just win the match and take the check home.

I think John McCain is EXACTLY what this country needs at this moment and beyond. John McCain is exactly what the GOP NEEDS right now. The days of being overly influenced by the religious right morons and big business are over with a McCain nomination. John McCain will make a great Commander in Chief, better than ANY candidate in the field from both parties. I know the economy will end up dominating a great deal of the Tom Foolery like discussion running up to the conventions, but we must not forget we are at war (funny how Iraq hasn’t factored much so far now that some real progress is being made).

Most readers will wonder why I could be so energetic about McCain since I so vocally opposed to his brokered immigration legislation. My thoughts on immigration haven’t changed a bit and I still feel the bill was not a good one, but I also have to give props to the guy for WORKING with Democrats to get SOMETHING done and that’s what McCain does, works with others to get things done. I trust his ability to stick to his guns when it’s necessary and work with the other side of the isle the rest of the time. McCain possesses aged and tested integrity that is a warmth to me and is mostly absent in politics today. I would say that Obama possesses large amounts of integrity which I respect; it’s just that he’s too new to having had it tested for real. John McCain has been tested. He has paid the price for going against party line and here he still is. I’m afraid Obama would lose it all his first day in office when he would surely have to mutter words to this affect, “What? Did I say I was pulling troops out of Iraq? No, I didn’t say that. What I said was…”. I've even decided to overlook the fact that McCain's a squid.

To be honest, compared to past campaigns I’m pretty excited about this one. I have respect for all three front runners (McCain, Clinton, and Obama) and hope that honest forward facing debate based on current reality is what the remaining campaign will be about. So keep the driver in the bag John McCain and on to the conventions.